Anyone know Budapest/been on holiday there lately?

[TrepidationOfTheSpheres]

I'm going in half term, and am starting to look into what to do. (two adults)

If you'd got any suggestions for me, I'd like to know

1. Castle area. We are staying near here. Fisherman's Bastion looks very pretty, and free to wander around. Also Matthias Church. I am not sure which of the various other things to do - there seems to be various museums, halls, etc, and no one site to buy tickets to it all, so needs to make choices I think. The hospital in the rock sounds interesting. What else is there and which museums would you recommend? Is there actually anything of the 'castle' to see, or is it all museums now? Would you recommend a guided tour of some/all/any of it? I have heard about caves too - some in the castle area and maybe some elsewhere? We could probably spend a whole afternoon or more here, given that we're staying kind of near, so could also do bits at different times.

2. We'd like to see the market and maybe do something like a food tour, food workshop, wine tasting, or similar. Not super expensive though. Any recommendations?

3. Would you do a cruise on the Danube? If so, any recommendations of companies, or is it mostly one company that does them?

Other things that we were planning are one of the baths (I guess Széchenyi is probably most likely), Museum of Terror, maybe a Ruin bar, some of the other sights we can see by walking around like the Shoes on the Danube, Chain bridge, etc. Parliament? Ferris wheel? Margaret Island? Jewish area walk? New York cafe? Hop-on-hop-off bus? Walking tour? (either of those could be the day we arrive to get our bearings). All of that could be decided when we're there depending how we feel, time, weather etc. There seem to be various other quirky museums too, if we have spare time. We're on a bit of a budget so planning lots of walking and free things, but do want to enjoy it and do the main things. Breakfast included at hotel, and I"m sure we can have lunch easily, but will need dinners.

Comments on any of the plans so far? Thanks!!

Rudas baths a much better bet, since Gellert is closed for renovation. Yes to walking tour, yes to Jewish quarter look on get your guide for a food tour, go to the original ruin bar Szimpla Kert and the area around it (also one of the best restaurants in Pest is nearby, called Ghetto Gulyas, booking online recommended , it gets busy). And yea to a river cruise, sunset one is amazing as the buildings are beautifully lit.

I love Budapest, been several times.

Absolutely love Budapest, been 4 times and it is probably my favourite European capital. Personally I would not go to Széchenyi baths. Everyone instagrammable goes there and it is expensive and has huge queues if you do not catch it early. It is good though, nice park and heroes square nearby, and maybe for the first time you have to "do it". There is tons of choice iro of baths, I like Lukacs, budget late night tickets ( I like the one on Margarit Island in better weather also). The Buda side with the castle and Fishermans Bastion is great to walk around, brilliant views the castle itself (inside) is the most boring place ever. I absolutely love the Fliippermuseum (place full of pinball and other games). It is about a tenner now to get in, but you can go, get a wristband that lasts all day (we actually did this recently, i.e went in about midday, then went to Margarit's Island (lovely in itself), did the outdoor pools, caught the musical fountains, then had one last go on the pinball). Ruin pubs are good near Opera, not as cheap as they once were. Get a travel pass, the transport is good value and easy to use Ubers are not badly priced. Been stung once for a taxi from airport to Buda, but it was 2am.. Lots of nice sights down the river, you used to be able to go on the local ferry for nothing but I it had stopped last time I went. Frici Papas is good for Hungarian food and atmosphere, but again, not like it was, queues out of the door now, due to everyone loving it on Tripadvisor. St stephen's cathedral is beautiful (again used to be free, but I think they charge now), It is a lot more expensive than it used to be, but it is still generally cheaper than UK, it also has more of homeless problem than it had, but where doesn't? It is pretty safe. x

The Houdini museum!!

DD and I had a great time there. We had a guided tour of the Jewish ghetto which was sobering.

Recommend New York Cafe if you want to pretend you are a Russian oligarch for a few hours.

We’re going in a couple of weeks. I’m not planning to book anything, will just get there and decide what we want to do. I hate having to stick to an itinerary on holiday, you miss out on all the hidden gems that you only come across while wandering.

We were there about a month ago with our two sons (15 & 12) as part of a European driving holiday.

We would definitely recommend a walking tour which takes in most of the major sites.

Fisherman's Bastion is well worth a visit - especially if you're staying locally. You'll need a decent fitness level if you're walking up to it from the Danube though.

The ruin bars are well worth a visit. Szimpla Kert is probably the biggest and best but there are several to try in the same area.

It sounds like you're staying in Buda which is calmer and more peaceful - especially at night, but the majority of the action is over the river in Pest so you may find yourself crossing the bridges constantly.

It was very hot when we were there in August (late 30s) but hopefully it will be more pleasant when you are there.

Budapest is a fantastic city with lots to see and do and great food. Have a great time.

Thank you, this is all very helpful!

Probably not going to actually book things until we're there, but I'd like to have rough ideas of what we might want to do, budget, to work out what is close together etc. (specially the castle area, as if we can do a lot of those things in one day, that might save the walking/hills/bridge crossing too much!). And also maybe to work out whether the Budapest Card is worth it - I have read that it's probably not, unless you do a lot of museums. If it's raining, I suppose we might, but otherwise not - so maybe just a transport card instead. The card does include a Danube cruise, though - but not sure if that means it'd be with the most touristy of all the companies or something, or if there is one main one. It also includes a discount to the Széchenyi baths ,but you can only get it if you buy the ticket in person in the morning, and from what I read, it's better to buy the online fast-track ticket so you don't queue for ages. Interesting that people recommend it's better to go to other baths, though. I know the Gellert one is closed and that's supposed to be the most beautiful.

Exactly! Who wants a holiday itinerary? It’s like that 80’s film…’if it’s Tuesday it must be Belgium’
Just go somewhere…relax..find a street cafe… enjoy a drink & don’t go by timetables (especially those ones on spreadsheets with timings…nightmare).

I'm not planning a detailed itinerary! I'm looking for suggestions of what is worth seeing in the castle area, as that's all close together, and any particular recommended companies for things like the market/food tours/workshops, walking tours, Danube tour etc. What we end up doing when will depend on weather, location, how we feel, how much walking we've done etc. But it's good to have an idea of the unmissables, the possibles, and some of the quirky extras that people recommend, to give a little idea of where to start or what to leave out. I'm not booking anything in advance that doesn't need it - but it's still useful to have a rough idea of what to see, in order to decide if something like the Budapest card is worth it, and also to check out opening days of some things, as sometimes there's a day in the week where a major thing is closed, and if you are there for four days and want to see it, it can take a little planning. I'd also like to know if certain things DO have to be booked, like maybe the parliament tour or a food workshop or whatever, or the baths, to avoid long queues or so we don't miss out on something that would have been very good, given that it's half term for England, so there might be more tourists there than usual.